The article here is "Windows tablets". It's not just about Surface Pro. The costs I was referring to aren't for the Pro, obviously. The photo in the article is for a Surface 2, which isn't a Pro model, but the new RT version.
But, let's face it, the Pro tablets aren't selling well either. I've read that 7 million Windows tablets sold in 2013, but I don't believe a word of it. Most everyone I know has an iPad, some have Android models, and one person has a Surface Pro.
In fact, I'm skeptical about every number except that of Apple. No one else mentions sell through, some don't even tell what their shipped numbers are, and it's all a matter of guesswork by the Microsoft friendly duo of Gardner and IDC.
Microsoft is losing massive amounts of money on their tablets, and third parties aren't having a ball either. Now, there's talk of an 8" Pro, or equivelant from third parties. Are they kidding? The Pro is so difficult to use in the classic desktop mode already. And for RT, well, let's just say that there's no need for that in the eye of the consumer. Both Android and iOS already fill all the ecological slots for tablets, and RT offers nothing extra of note. That will be true no matter what Microsoft does about integrating the versions.

You're not correct. The iPad is an excellent productivity device. I'm not the fastest typist, but I can manage 60 WMP on my iPad's virtual keyboard, and others tell me they can do better. That's fast enough for most anything other than for secretarial work.
As companies are issuing iPads, they must feel as though they fit their needs just fine. Of course, iPads won't meet every need. But then, neither do notebooks.

I haven't seen a Surface Pro 2 at that price but I don't think that's what he was getting at.

I think one of the things holding back the Surface tablet line is the confusion between the Surface and the Surface Pro. I will be replacing my laptop with a Surface Pro 2 shortly, but I would not buy a Surface with an ARM processor. Part of the draw for me is having a full desktop OS and not having to juggle applications between devices. I think in the future mobile OSes and desktop OSes are going to merge, Microsoft is the company closest to making this happen and the hardware is finally good enough for me to take the plunge.

I don't think it was the Surface 2 Pro selling for $199. I think it was the first generation Surface (i.e. the Surface RT which I believe is now just called Surface 2). I believe that version had the Nvidia Tegra or something like that. It was an ARM processor, not an Intel.

The issue with iPad and Android isn't just the keyboards; if you plug a mouse, keyboard, and large screen into your tablet, you expect a desktop experience (something Microsoft has learned the hard way with Windows 8.x).

OEMs might be able to do some devices like this using Android as the OS, but now the situation that Microsoft finds themselves in the consumption tablet market has exactly flipped; why on earth would anyone buy an Android device with a desktop-like experinece when you can get a Windows tablet that provides the full Windows desktop experience? The only advantage such Android devices would have would be price, but not by much.

You also want access to your desktop software, and only Windows can give you that. Granted, even with Intel's excellent BayTrail processors, the current crop of hybrid tablets isn't quite up to full desktop performance standards. But you can imagine in one more generation of SOCs from Intel, this will probably not be an issue.

Full disclosure here: I do NOT think the desktop is dead in any way; the desktop will be with us for information workers for the foreseeable future; obviously, the desktop/laptop computer market is pretty mature, so no big growth can be expected, but PC/Hybrid makers will continue to sell 100s of millions of units.

I agree, as time goes by and PC sales continues to decline the need for a device that is productive (mobile or otherwise) will only increase. Mobile devices have experienced a lot of growth in recent times but to the most part they are only devices that can be used for consumption.

I think it would not require a very big leap for Android or ipad to start offering keyboards and display ports however, the advantage that Microsoft has is that Windows is accepted in the enterprise world. If performance is an issue then maybe DaaS becomes an offering.

You make an interesting point about determining the price of individual components. It would be nice to have a breakdown of different types of screens at per unit cost, etc.

The prices of processors are readily available, so it is a good place to start. The Venue 8 Pro has an Atom Z3740D that has a tray value of $32. And the Surface pro 2 has an i5-4300U that has a tray value of $281. It does sound extremely strange that a product having a $281 processor alone is selling for $199...

Another point to take into consideration concerning the need for performance in a Windows based tablet is that Microsoft has recently started placing the i5-4300u processor in the Surface pro 2, instead of i5-4200u.

This article is great, really explains the challenges ahead for MS in the tablet market.

First, the survey you mentioned where people view their laptop and tablet as separate things, this implies that they WANT to keep them as separate things.

The fact is, the iPad is a terrible productivity device; next time you go to an airport, check out the people trying to use the iPad with a keyboard to do actual work, it will make your eyes water at how bad this experience is. For these folks, it would be interesting to introduce them to a Surface 2 with a type cover, miles ahead of anything available on the iPad.

Second, you are taking BYOD as a done deal in the enterprise. I have talked to several CTOs of large organizations, and they, to the person, _hate_ BYOD as a device strategy. The problem is, up to now they simply did not have much to offer as alternative. When your CEO comes to you with an iPad and says "get this on the network", this is a hard request to refuse if you don't present any workable alternative. This is just beginning to change with some of the newer Windows tablets, too early to tell if a real shift will take place or not.

I do, however, agree that this productivity tablets will probably ultimately only appeal to a limited set of users, but I do think in the long run, this could be a perfectly decent market for MS and its partners. Maybe ultimately 10% of the tablet market? That would be just fine for MS, selling, as you say in the article, millions of units.

I also agree MS is misguided in trying to compete directly against the iPad and low-cost Android devices. It is hard to imagine someone going into Best Buy, looking over an iPad, Android tablet, and Windows tablet, and ultimately choosing the Windows tablet for a consumption device.

Microsoft will lose if they continue to attack the "front gates" of the iPad and Android markets by trying to convince consumers to buy a Windows tablet for its entertainment/ media consumption chops. This is a losing game.

MS needs to offer an alternative vision of what these portable device can be, and the only game left in town is to push a vision of a real productivity device you can hold in your hand, connect to keyboard, and also dock with your 24" monitor at your desk. The good news is that the iPad and Android simply cannot do this, they cannot compete here; MS and its partners have this, admittedly niche, market to themselves

I deal with the iOS vs Windows debate daily, and one of the biggest reasons I hear from customers and partners about why they still push iPads really comes down to messaging and simplicity. Microsoft and the hardware OEMs (in my opinion) still don't really push a strong value proposition to businesses. We aren't being surrounded with the messaging that most organizations do indeed have a Microsoft infrastructure (Office, Windows, Exchange, SharePoint), and so working with technology that natively can allow workers to work productively across devices is a compelling message. The problem is that there are so many devices out there, and just too much market noise in general. iPads sadly sell more since there are few models to choose from, have a consistent experience and (sadly), they have good marketing.

The other problem that I think is really keeping the platform from really taking off is that it's confusing for folks to configure. I am still learning how to tweak my Windows 8 tablet. It's the hybrid between having an application-based tablet and a traditional desktop that while powerful, can intimidate some folks.

To learn more about what organizations are doing to tackle attacks and threats we surveyed a group of 300 IT and infosec professionals to find out what their biggest IT security challenges are and what they're doing to defend against today's threats. Download the report to see what they're saying.

Is DevOps helping organizations reduce costs and time-to-market for software releases? What's getting in the way of DevOps adoption? Find out in this InformationWeek and Interop ITX infographic on the state of DevOps in 2017.

Chances are your organization is adopting cloud computing in one way or another -- or in multiple ways. Understanding the skills you need and how cloud affects IT operations and networking will help you adapt.